STOCKHOLM, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) — The Swedish government on Wednesday unveiled a plan to subsidize electricity bills for households and businesses to ease the pain of skyrocketing electricity costs.
Both households and businesses will be compensated with at least SEK 30 billion (US$2.9 billion), Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced at a press conference.
“The higher the electricity prices, the greater the quantity. This is a completely new way of thinking and the background is that the market was not created for such extreme situations as we have right now,” says Andersson.
On Tuesday, electricity prices in southern Sweden hit a record high of SEK 7.68 per kilowatt hour.
Analysts expect electricity prices to rise even higher in the coming winter, making Wednesday’s new aid package necessary.
A more detailed plan for the package will be presented in November. (1 Swedish krona = 0.096 US dollars)
Source: sn.dk
